Materiality and the Recovery of Discarded Materials in a Buenos Aires Cartonero Cooperative

Abstract

We are currently witnessing an interesting paradox in the social categorization of“waste.” Until about a decade ago, this term designated a vast and heterogeneous assortment of discarded materials that embodied the representation of anti-value: objects depleted ofall use and/or exchange value. Today, however, few would hesitate to consider wastean unmistakable source of emerging value; some would even view waste materialsas a kind of Holy Grail. These contemporary viewshave been stimulated by a variety of contributions ranging from theoretical conceptions of softcore capitalism—such as calls for a “green economy”and/or a “circular economy”1 —to the guidelines condensed in the new Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) technocratic paradigm, which has become a dominant reference for governments, private companies, and NGOs